Raising a 28 ft Bertram 28 in Alachua, FL

The 28 ft Bertram 28 sportfisher had twin engines dead and a cockpit sole soft enough to dent with a boot heel. She sat on a lake dock through a wet summer, took rain in through the cockpit drains, and finally settled by the stern with the bow pointing at the sky.

The dock sat at the end of a long dirt lane, so a crane truck was out. Both tanks still held fuel, which meant we had to keep her level enough that nothing sheened across the water. We boomed the stern, passed straps under the hull, and brought her up on lift bags, stern first and bow after, bailing the cockpit as she rose.

Most of a morning, start to finish. A skiff held the line out to the ramp for the short tow. With a soft sole and no engines worth saving, the Bertram went by way of Gainesville to our yard for dismantling and recycling, and the fuel was drained and logged before she left. Not much salvage value, but this sunken boat recovery left nothing.